Grain-elevator wagon-dump and conveyer mechanism.



- F. 1. ZIMMERMAN.

GRAIN ELEVATOR WAGON DUMP AND CONVEYER MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-6. 1910.

: 1,145,223. PatentedJuly 6,1915.

2 SHEETS-:SHEET L K\\\\\\\ mm & a N Y #4 J\ QL a t W/fneam .f/wenfok f I A. a Q l I 4 fiedenc/rlZ/amerman fiw COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPM CO., WASHINGTON. D. C-

F. J. ZIMMERMAN. GRAIN ELEVATOR WAGON DUMP AND CONVEYER MECHANISM.

APPLICATIONHLED SEPT- 5. 1910.

1,145,223; Patented July 6,1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOCIRAPH (PP-.WASHINGTOH, D. 1:.

I FREDERICK Mm A ioF .iATHEN S, I LLI fiOIiS.

GRAIN-ELEVATQR WAGON-DUMP AND eoiTvE YnnMEei ANIsM,

Be it known ,a that 1,; FREDERICK:

Miamiama CitlZBIluOf the United States,"-re

' siding ,atAthens, in lthecounty ofMenard and State of 5 Illinois, have invented certain 1 I new and useful Improvements in Grain Elevator VVagon-Dump v and Gonveyer Mech anism, of @which the following ispa' s'pecifi scation. i

This invention. has reference to a new and improved ,grainjdump and dump conveyer foruse ln -an'elevator, and refers more particularlyffltoia type of manually controlled duniprlogs; and to a eonveyer in which .the

trough."

@An object of thelpres'ent invention isto provide an adjustable means for, covering chainreturns: underneath the conveyer the conveyer trough, whereby -'the 'feed' of the grain? into the'trough ima'y be' regulated,

thus makingit unnecessary forthe conveyer chain to drag through the grain for the: entire length Ofthegrainbinfl This invention'has fora still further. 0b:

v bered 'bythe mainconveyer- "andreturning the' 'sameto the hoppervinto which th Mmain conveyer is ;feeding.f'

Foramore complete andthorough under-- standing of this inventionj ireference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sectional, iview taken-through "2 Ethe dump bin', -parts'being shown in section,

parts in elevationyend parts broken-awayf in order to more clearlyfl show Y the details E of the devicegfthe dump logsbeing- Here shown in their horizontal position and the conveyer trough cover beingpartly closed;- I

" This endof-th'e' cable 11 is the end-that- 1eaves*the -drun1 91 011 the side'farthest reef moved from the end 3of the dump'log 1:

Fig. 2-is a longitudinalsection ofthe dump as 'the' same would appear if taken onthe line 22 of' Fig. 'lgflthe dumplogs'being shown-in the lowered position; Figw3 is an enlarged section? of the ;main conveyer drag as the same would appear if taken on; the line 38 of 'Figq l looking in the direc-' tion of thearrow; and FigJl is an enlarged-x section as the? same would' appear ion fthe lineA- LofFigalyloeking in the direction 1 a 1910.; seri rnoirssome.

a a. e t i e ts c e ci f f Patented mm 1915.. Original application filed May 12, 1910,;Seriai No; 566,875LfDiVidd anii'this-a ip lieation'filed September 6,.

of reference indicate I cor.-

Q o frfthe arrow,' showing" the-auxiliary 005 Infthe drawings A A. represent Q the side 7 walls of'therdriveway of'an elevator, and B lndicates the floori ng' ofthe: driveway-sup-v a portedon beamsoivjoists: The two wagon dump logs lare pivoted at" 2,.eaoh between two of the beams CJ The rear ends 3zof the dump-logs I extendoverthe grain dump bin Ii 4; isoithat'wheni a'wagon 'is placed on the. dump logs '1 and dumped, the grain will run directly .intothebin 4; Saidbinhas the' sloping sides 5 and *6, thesides5-"extending w up= under the dump logsvl." At the bottom 1 of the bin 4: is the describedgi u t Adj acent the rear-ends 3 of the dump'vlogs liand: lying in a transverse directionto the eXtent'of said sdump logstis-a shaft=8 which; is journaledthe beams G. Woodendrums'r 9,- onefor each dumpn'log :1 are-imm0Vably-i80 carried on said shaft 8. Just enough space isleft between saiddrums' 9 and-the rear; ends conveyer though t b I 3izof said dump logsl to allowithe presence ofrollers 10,- one for 'each of saiddump logs,- said rollers ,10 being providedfor the wheels of the wagon to ride againstasthe dump is 1 I lowered. #Cables '11", which arefpreferably Swedish wire'tiller rope or some similarplr ablewire cable, are wrapped with a plurality off turns, -one 1 'cableabout each of the drums 9-,"saidfpli1rality of turns being pref-c erably six orinore. Oneend of each of s/aid H cables i'sip'asse'ddownwthrough 'apulley l2, said'pulley being'secured bymeans of a rod 7,

After passing throu gh said pulley '12 'said cable" 11* is secured on' the under side of 1 the end 3 of the dump log I-tothe bolt 15;

The other "end of the" cable 11* is brought directly totheun'der si deofthe'end 3 of the Y dumpzlog lfwhere it 'is securedto the eye" 16 of a bolt-1'7.- The opposite end of boltll passes thrOu'gh an-eye-IS of abolt 19', and

movably carried on the short shaft 24' which.

is journaled in and supported by a bracket 25 attached to the Wall A of the elevator driveway. The bracket 25 is preferably placed at a suflicient height above the floor B to allow a person to operate the wagon dump by means of the crank handle 26 on the outer end of shaft 24. Turning the crank 26 to the right will operate the shaft 8 through the sprocket chain connection between sprockets 21 and 22 and cause the cables 11 to be drawn up on the side of the drums opposite the dump logs 1, thus causing the ends '3 of the dump logs to be lowered to dump the grain from the wagon. To raise the dump logs to a horizontal position again the crank 26 is operated to the left thus raising the logs entirely by manual power and giving the operation of the entire mechanism into complete control of the operator in case of accident, and at the same time eliminating any sudden jolting or jarring of the wagon.

to the shaft 24, one dog locking shaft 24 against rotation in one direction and the,

Two separably operated dogs 27 and 28 are secured to the bracket 25 and are arranged to have engagement with the straight toothed ratchet wheel 29, when thrown into locking position, said wheel 29 being secured other preventing its turning in the opposite direction. It is thus possible to quickly andeasily lock the dump logs in any desired position by locking the shaft 24 against rotation.

It can easily be seen that by the use of cables as operating means for lowering and raising the dump logs, it becomes unnecessary to place a large amountof cumbersome mechanism withinthe grain bin, or to make the bin smaller to provide a place for thismechanism, and more particularly this structure allows the bin to occupy the very desirable space up under-the dump logs. It is apparent that the cables 11 occupy practically no space at all in the grain bin 4, and that the cables and the pulleys 12 would be in no way impaired in their operation, even should grain be closely packed around the same.

The construction described 'hereinbefore does not form part of the invention to be covered by this application as that is the subject matter'of the parent application of which this is a division and is referred to merely for the better understanding of the operation of the mechanism as a whole.

In detail the conveyer trough 7 consists of two side pieces 31 and 32, and the bottom floor or covering 33 forming a conveyer box running entirely across the center of the bottom of the grain bin 4, and extending to the sheller D or to an elevating device where no sheller is used. Intermediate the top and bottom edges of the sides 31 and 32 of the conveyer trough 7 is the main drag floor plank 34 dividing the conveyer box into an upper and lower section. Blocks 35 and 36 having a triangular cross section are placed in the upper section of the conveyer box forming a somewhat V-shaped trough as at 37. Through this trough runs the conveyer chain 38, said chain having attached thereto at regular intervals the lugs or cleats 39. Said chain 38 operates to draw the grain through the trough 37 to the hopper of the sheller D, being operated from the end nearest the said sheller by engagement with sprocket wheelf40 which is carried'on shaft 41. Said'shaft 41 is operated by having in turn a chain and sprocket connection with a shaft 42, not shown, which shaft is driven by some suitable power, preferably operating through chain E. The chain 38 after dischar-gingthe grain into the hopper D rides under 011 the sprocket 40 and returns through the lower section of the conveyer box 7, traveling on the floor 33. At the opposite end it rides up over an idler sprocket 43 carried. on a short shaft 44, said shaft being arranged to be adjustable for the purpose of tightening the chain 38 by any approved means shownas 45. This method of returning the drag chain 38 directly underneath the conveyer trough 37 is contrary to the usual custom, which is to return-the chain above through'a box in the grain bin'4, the present objection to the under return being that the chain 38 in passing over the sprocket 40 carries with it some of the grain, or as it is commonly expressed, slobbers. To remedy this the ordinary custom is to run the chain perpendicularly above the hopper for a distance suflicient to cause the grain carried over to bejdropped into the hopper. But this ordinary method' makes it necessary to return the chain through a box suspended directly in the center of the grain bin, which is a very great inconvenience, .and occupies a great amount of valuable space. To make the under return practical a means is provided for conveying the slobbered. grain to the hopper D, said means consisting of a small auxiliary conveyer attached to one side of the main drag box and near the discharge end thereof. An opening 46 is provided in the floor 33 of the main dragbox. As the chain'38 in its return passes over the opening 46 allslobbered grain will fall iliary conveyer trough1l 4 8. The grain will then be carried up through this trough 48 and deposite d into the hopper 'D-by a conveyer chain 49' having cleats orlugs50, said chain being-operated by a sprocket 51 car ried on shaft 42,-the" oppositefendof said chain passing "over an idler sprocket .52, said chain-returning from'sprocket' 51 to sp ocket 52 1 freely suspended underneath wheel 64 which is in mesh with the worm 65.

Said Worm 65 is immovably secured to a shaft 66 which extends up into the elevator driveway. The lower end of shaft 66 bears in bracket 67 and the upper end -iscarried in the bracket 68 attached to the wall of the driveway, being preferably the same wall to which is attached the bracket25. Said bracket 68 is so placed that a person can easily adjust the trough cover 53 by means of a crank 69 secured to the upper end of the shaft 66. By operating the crank 69 the slide 53 can be adjusted to cover as much of the conveyer trough as desired. 1

Thus when the bin 4 is almost full of grain, only a small part of the trough is left open as at 63, thereby permitting only the desired amount of grain to feed into the trough and making it unnecessary for the conveyer chain to drag through the grain for the entire length of the bin. As the bin'is emptied of grain the cover 53 can be moved back to allow the grain to continue to feed into the trough until when thereis no longer any grain in the bin the entire length of the trough will be uncovered. It is easily seen that this device eliminate much of the wear and tear on the conveyer chain, revents it from feeding into the hopper aster than desired, and also keeps the drag from choking up and breaking the chain.

The general results attained in an ele vator dump of this construction and design are cheapness and simplicity of structure, ease and safety in operation, and convenience in the arrangement and location of the various parts, such as is not successfully attained by any form of device now in use.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a grain elevator dump conveyer mechanism, in combination, a main conveyer trough, a conveyer chain operating in said trough, foroarrymg grain to a;

destined receptacle, 2. chain return boxunderneath said trough, through which box An adjustable sliding"cover- 53 for'trough' said conveyerchain returns, an auxiliary conveyer trough at one end of said=main conveyer trough, an openingin said chain'. return-'box, ?a sl de beneath saidopen ng whereby 'grain. slobbered by said. main conveyer will be deposited. in said auxiliary conveyerfa'nd-a conveyer chainl i n said-aux I lllflly conveyeii trough by which-the .-slob-. i

bered grain is ceptacle. I

an auxiliary discharge 1 on'the side and near its discharge end, "conveying -means in said trough, an auxiliary conveyer trough ad]'a conveyed "touts destined re-';

cent said main trough and-incommunication f i with the auxiliary discharge, and. conveying-t means'in'saidauxiliarytroughiadapted to 1 cony'eyslobbe'red material to the s ceptacle-a's saidmain conveyer.-

I 3. In a conveyer, a conveyer trough hav;

ing uppefr and lower runsfithe upper having a side discharge,conveying'means traversing the upper and lower runs, acon- "having an endfdischarge, the lower runveyer arranged to receive ,the discharge from the lower run adapted to convey slobbered material tothe same receptacle assaid.

main conveyer, and an' inclined feed way from the side discharge to saidsecond con-"' veyer- 4. In an apparatus of, the character de-, 7

scribed, in combination, a. main conveyerl trough, comprising a box having upper and lower walls, and an intermediate partition forming'upper and lower sections, said box being open at one end of the upperfsection, v and being open for a portion of one side of the lower section, conveying means in said trough having an upper run in the upper section of said box, and a lower run in'the' lower section of said box, an auxiliary conveyer'troughadjacent said main troughand in communication with the opening the side of the lower section of said box,.and conveying m'ea'nsin said auxiliaryfltrough adapted to convey slobbered materialto the same receptacle as said main conveyer.

5. In an apparatus of he character trough having upper and lower sections,

said trough being open at one end of the upper section and beingop en for a portion. of one side of the lower section, a conveyer in said trough having an upper run in the side ofthe lower section leading to said auxiliary conveyer trough, and a conveyer having a run running through said conveyer trough.

.-6.;In an apparatusiofthecharacter de- I scribed, n combination, a main conveyer scribed, in combinat on, a "main conveyer trough, comprising a box having side members and top and bottom members, and an intermediate partition between said side members and forming upper and lower sections, the upper section of said box being open at one end, the lower section of said box being open for a portion of one side to permit the discharge of slobbered material, members triangular in cross section positioned on the upper section of said box to form a V-shaped trough converging toward the intermediate member, conveying means in said trough having runs in said upper and lower sections of the box, the upper run moving in the bottom of said V-shaped trough. v I

7. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination,-a main conveyer trough,,comprising a box having side members and top and bottom members, and an intermediate partition between said side members and forming upper and lower sections, the upper section of said box being open at one end, the lower section of said box being open for a portion of one side, the bottom of the box being open at its end corresponding to the open side, conveying means in said trough having runs in said upper and lower sections of the box, a slide below said open portion of the bottom member, an auxiliary conveyer trough with which said slide connects, and a conveyer in said auxiliary conveyer trough adapted to convey the slobbered material to the same receptacle as the main conveyer.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

FREDERICK J. ZIMMERMAN.

Witnesses:

ROY Z. MoRoUN, ELMER L. PRIMM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C." 

